“At least my dad hasn’t asked you to call him daddy…yet,” he whispered into my ear. I pushed away from him angrily, but he just kept an amused look on his face as he let me go.
“Maybe we could have dinner next time you’re in town,” I said stiffly to my mother. Hell would freeze over before that happened, but I hoped a vague promise would get me out of this miserable situation. I knew enough about Richard to know that his company was based on the west coast and far from New York.
“We plan on being here for few days,” Richard said to my dismay. “I’ve cleared my schedule for tomorrow evening, so I’ll have a car sent for you around seven. We have a lot to discuss.”
“He cleared his schedule for you,” Kingston said mockingly. “You should be honored, since you’re the only one he’s done that for in years.”
“Kingston…” Richard said in a warning voice.
Kingston stopped talking, but he didn’t wipe the smirk off his face. Maverik hadn’t said a word, just watched me with steely gray eyes that seemed to pierce right through the shell I wore on the outside, and into the vulnerable girl that lay underneath. A girl that needed to stay buried and forgotten. I shot him a hateful look to get him to back off, but the corner of his mouth tipped up in the beginning of a smirk. Asshole.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Nina stated amiably, as if our entire fifteen-minute interaction hadn’t been torturous.
She turned to go, but there was no way I was going out to dinner with those people on my own. “Does the dinner invite come with a plus one?” I called out after them.
Maverik’s eyes dropped down to where Ryan and I held hands, but Richard had a frown on his face. “This is a family dinner,” he said firmly.
“Ryan is family,” I told him with a stubborn look that meant I wasn’t going to let this go.
“Let her bring her boyfriend,” Nina murmured as she ran a hand over his arm. “It might help her relax a little.”
Richard gave me a sharp nod, which must have been the stamp of approval. Before the oddest family in the room could make it to the door, the director of the school cut Richard off. “Mr. Wilder, I had no idea you were in the audience. If I knew, I would have made sure you had the best seats.”
“The auditorium looked full,” Richard said dryly. “I wouldn’t have wanted to take anyone else’s seat.”
Alexander looked nervous but decided to push forward. “I hoped you enjoyed the performance? You know, we have a lot of very talented young dancers and an excellent scholarship program.”
“But it could be even better with an endowment from me?” Richard asked bluntly.
Alexander looked embarrassed. “Well, I…”
“No,” Richard told him flatly. “I’m not donating money to your school today.” Richard led Nina and his sons past the distraught director and out the door. The crowd parted for them as they left, and people stared as if they were celebrities. Which, I guess, they actually were.
Faces turned towards me, and the whispers started, but I ignored it all.
I let out a breath as soon as Nina and crew had left the building. I regretted giving in and agreeing to dinner. I should have thought of some way out of it.
“Please tell me that you aren’t going to make me go to the family reunion from hell,” Ryan pleaded with me. “They obviously didn’t want me to come.”
“You love drama,” I told him firmly. “And this is some TMZ level drama playing out right in front of you.”
“I love to watch drama,” he corrected me. “Preferably from a distance and with popcorn. I don’t want to be a part of it.”
I gave him an exasperated look and turned to Mrs. Logan with sad puppy eyes. She stepped in, just like I knew she would.
“Ryan,” she scolded him. “It’s just dinner.”
He sighed. “Fine. But it better be a restaurant that’s too fancy to think about carding me before serving wine.”
“Ryan!” Mrs. Logan cried out as she swatted his arm.
He rubbed his arm sheepishly. “I’m joking. Katya and I are going to get changed, and then we’ll meet you back here?”
We said our goodbyes to the Logans and went back to the dressing rooms. I sat in front of the mirror and peeled off my fake eyelashes before I wiped my face free of stage makeup. Makeup remover wipes were fine in a pinch, but I couldn’t wait to get home and scrub down in the shower. My adrenaline from our performance and my mother’s ambush started to wear off, and I yawned.
Ryan smacked my arm playfully for the yawn. “That’s contagious.”
The pain in my feet and soreness in my muscles started to set in, and I found myself relaxing into the pain, savoring it. God, I was fucked up. The physical pain eased the anger that burned inside me at the sight of my delinquent mother, and I felt myself sliding back into the comfortable void that left me blissfully numb of any inner turmoil.
When I opened my eyes again, I slid my happy Katya mask back on, hiding everything that lay beneath the surface.
“Sorry,” I groaned. “These past few weeks have been a whirlwind, and this is the first night we can finally relax. We’re done.” I attempted a happy smile for him.
“Are we going to ignore the fact that your new dad is a famous billionaire?” Ryan asked curiously.
“Yup. And he’s not my dad. Nina just called him her ‘companion.’” I made a face to show him what I thought about that.
“She was wearing an engagement ring,” Ryan pointed out. “And the hotties called you their new sister.”
